Traveling bag



NOV.4 13, 1934. M. BRADY TRAVELING BAG Original Filed Dec. 5, 1928 2Sheets-Sheet 1 rlllll INVENTOR JessLcJ-n'zd] ATTORNEYS SBY J. M. BRADYTRAVELING BAG Nov. 13, 1934.

Original Filed Dec. 5, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 HTH INENTOR Jesszca, MER?ATTORNEYS ffl Patented Nov. 13, 1934 PATENT OFFICE TRAVELING BAG JessicaM. Brady, Yorktown,

poration of New York N. Y., assignor to Bradka. Holding Corporation,Rye, N. Y., a cor- Application December 5,

1928, Serial No. 323,977

Renewed April 12, 1934 8 Claims.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an improvedtraveling bag or case particularly adapted for carrying numerous pairs'of shoes and capable of ready adjustment for carrying other articlesalso.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the closed bag;

Fig. 2 a front view of the bag fully opened;

Fig. 3 a vertical section taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 a section on a larger scale taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the bag adjusted to carry otherarticles than shoes;

Fig. 6 a plan view of one of the inner bag sections removed;

Fig. 7 a vertical section taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 a detail section taken on the line 8 8 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 9 a detail section taken on the line 9 9 of Fig. 8 upon a largerscale than the latter;

Fig. l0 a detail section taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 5; l

Fig. 11 a fragmentary top view of the bag showing the locking means inreleasedposition; and

Fig. 12 a detail fragmentary side view of the bag equipped withsupporting means to enable it to stand upright when opened.

The bag is box-like in form and comprises two upright, rigid sections orhalves 1 and 2 which, for identification, may be called front and rearsections respectively. Each section comprises a stiff, rectangular orsquare leaf or back 3 and a strong rigid frame extending :forwardly fromthe leaf and forming top and bottom walls 4 and 5 respectively and sideWalls 6. The said leaf and walls of each section may be made of wood,fiber or other suitable material and preferably have a covering 7 ofleather or other suitable material. Hinges 8 connect together the freeedges of the bottom walls 5 and adapt the sections to fold together withthe edges of the top, bottom and side walls abutting. Preferably thewalls of both sections are of the same depth so that the capacities ofthe two sections are equal. A sealing flange 9 is provided upon the rearsection 2 to overlap the abutting top and side Walls of the closed bag.Mounted upon the top wall of the bag section 2 is a handle 10 of usualform for carrying the bag.

Extending along the abutting edges of the top and side walls of the bagSections 1 and 2 are external margin strips 11 preferably secured to thecovering 7. 'Ihese strips are freely fiexible and each has a freelongitudinal edge to which is secured a row of small, spaced fasteningelements 12. The free edges o f the strips upon the -two bag sectionsare opposed when the bag is closed and the fastening elements 12extending along said opposed edges are disposed in staggered relationand are adapted to be interlocked. They extend continuously from a pointnear the center of the top of the bag, outwardly along the top edge ofeach section, around the upper corners of the section, down the sidesthereof and inwardly around the lower corners. The corners of thesections are rounded and when the bag is fully opened the lower cornersform Vs at Opposite sides of the bag, into which the fastening elementsextend.

The fastening elements are brought into interlocking engagement by meansof two tapered hollow slides 13. The fastening means represented by theelements 12 and the slides 13 is an article of commerce and forms nopart of my invention except in its application. Each slide is providedwith a pulling tab 14 hinged to it and when the .80 bag is to be openedthe slides are pulled in opposite directions across the top of the bag,down the sides and inwardly toward each other at the bottom. This fullyreleases the abutting edges of the bag sections so that the bag may beopened. In their fully retracted positions the slides 13 rest in the Vsat opposite sides of the bag. This disposes them in line with the hingeaxis so that they offer no resistance to the relative swinging of thebag sections but permit the sections to unfold into the same planewithout straining or pulling off the fastening elements l2. When the bagis closed it is sealed by drawing the slides upwardly and inwardly alongthe fastening elements until they are disposed in opposed relation atthe top of the bag. The tabs 14 of the slides are formed to effect alocking engagement with a lock l5 mounted centrally upon the top wall ofone of the bag sections and thereby hold the slides against outwardunlocking movement.

The interior of the rear bag section 2 is provided with a rigid,permanent partition 16. This partition is vertically disposed, extendsfrom the upper wall 4 to the lower wall 5 and its depth is equal to thedepth of the section. Preferably it 105 is spaced from one of the sideWalls 6 a distance equal to substantially one third the width of thesection, to define a narrow vertically elongated space. Within thisspace is a partition 17 which i s hinged to the rear wall 3 of thesection midway 110 the height of the space, as at 18, and is adapted toswing to a horizontal position and divide the space into two equalcompartments. Each of these compartments is of a size and shape toconvenently receive a pair of shoes. The forward edge of the partitioncomes substantially flush with the forward edges of the side walls 6 andof the partition 16 and has a soft flexible curtain 19 attached to it.The curtain is of sufficient length to extend slightly more than halfthe height of the compartment above the partition and is adapted to forma front wall for partly closing the compartment. At its free edge thecurtain is folded upon itself and stitched to produce a tubular formthrough which a flat, elastic band 20 is trained. The upper edge of thecurtain is formed with extended ends or tabs 21 which are provided withsnap fastening elements 22. These elements are adapted to engage withcompanion elements 23 mounted upon the inner side of the side wall 6 andupon the partition 16. Elements 22 and 23 are preferably of the usualball and socket type and the tabs 21 are turned rearwardly to effect anengagement of the elements.

When its upper end is fastened, the curtain 19 forms a front wall forthe upper compartment and also serves to hold the hinged partition 17suspended in a horizontal position. The width of the curtain is greaterthan the width of the compartment and when the curtain is fastened itsupper edge is gathered along the elastic band 20. The latter will beunder a slight tension between the fastening elements so that it willnormally remain taut but will yield and permit the curtain to beexpanded for the insertion and removal of the shoes.

The lower compartment is partly closed by a curtain 24 which extendsupwardly from the lower forward edge of the compartment. This curtain isof substantially/the same design and proportions as the curtain 19.Preferably, however, it is permanently fastened in place along its sideedges. Its lower edge is free and is provided with an elastic band 20'similar to band 20, which normally keeps the edge taut but permits it toyield.

When it is desired to pack longer articles than shoes in the bag thesnap fastening elements of the upper curtain 19 are released and thecurtain and hinged portion 17 are collapsed inwardly against the rearwall 3 of the bag section, as shown in Fig. 7. This places the upper andlower compartment spaces in communication and forms a single compartmentof liberal length to receive riding boots or other comparatively longarticles. When riding boots are packed in the compartment their toes mayproject out from under the elastic lower edge of the curtain and intothe other section of the bag for clearance.

The larger space within the bag section 2, to the right of the permanentpartition 16 accommodates a removable inner section or tray 25. Thelatter is substantially rectangular and snugly nts in said space. It isformed with a back 26, side, top and bottom walls 27, a verticalpartition 28 `and a horizontal partition 29, all preferably rigid.

The outer corners of the tray and the adjacent inner corners of the bagsection are made round, as at R and R' respectively, and the tray isadapted to iit snugly in its space. Partitions 28 and 29 divide the trayinto four equal compartments similar to the first described compartmentsand each adapted to receive a pair of shoes. Each compartment of thetray is also partly closed by a curtain 30 similar to the curtain 19extending upwardly from the lower forward edge of the compartment andpreferably secured in place permanently at three edges. l

The inner section or tray 25 is removably held in place by releasablefastening means of any suitable form. In the present instance there aretwo catches 31 mounted within opposite sides of the tray. Each catchcomprises a leaf spring carrying a lug which is adapted to snap into akeeper recess formed in the opposed side wall 6 or in the partition 16.To release the catch, the free end of the spring is lifted to retractthe lug from its keeper recess.

When the inner section 25 is removed from the outer bag section 2 a rod32 may be mounted in the upper end of the vacated space, for hangingdresses or the like. hinge member 33 pivotally connected to one endthereof and formed with a square button head 34 and a reduced neck 35.Mountings are provided for the rod atopposite sides of the space in thebag sections. One of these mountings is carried by the side wall 6 andincludes a at keeper plate 36 which is formed with a straight slot 37having a flared entrance opening through its forward edge. The plate 6is countersunk and flush with the inner surface of the wall 6 and issecured by screws 38 or other suitable fastening means. Inwardly of theplate the wall 6 is formed with a channel 39 registering with the slot37 and wider than the latter. The slot and the channel bothopen'forwardly through the outer edge of the wall 6. Together the slotand channel are adapted to receive the head 34 and neck 35 of therod-supporting member 33, the slot slidably receiving the neck and thechannel slidably receiving the head and holding it from turning. Mountedupon the plate 36 at the inner face thereof is a spring 40 formed with ahump over which the head 34 is adapted to snap. The spring yieldablyholds the rod support in its proper position, and the rod is supportedto swing horizontally into and out of the bag section 3. l The partition16 is formed with a slot 41 opening forwardly through its forward edgeand providing clearance for the free end of the rod 32. Within the slot41 is mounted a leaf spring 42 formed with a hump over which the rod isadapted to snap. The spring forms a yieldable catch to hold the rod inits innermost position with its end supported in the slot.

The front bag section l is constructed similarly to the section 2 justdescribed. It is provided with a rigid partition 16, a collapsiblepartition 17"L and attached curtain 19, and a curtain 24B. All of theseparts are similar to the corresponding parts 16, 17, 19 and 24respectively of the section 2 except that when the bag section 1 isfolded upwardly to its closed position the curtains will extenddownwardly from the upper ends of their respective compartments and willoverlap the curtains 19 and 24 of the section 2. The curtains of eachsection will then fully close the compartments of the other section dueto the staggered arrangement of the curtainsv upon the opposed sections.

Within the larger space of the bag section 1 an inner section or tray 25is removably fitted. This tray is similar to the tray 25, being dividedinto shoe-compartments adapted to register with those of the tray 25 andbeing held in place in the same way by catches 31a. The curtains 30 ofthe compartments of tray 25a however extend downwardly from the upperends of the compartments when the section 1 is closed against the Rod 32has a supporting section 2. The curtains 30 and 30 thus occupy staggeredpositions in the closed bag and overlap at their free edges so that thecurtains of each section fully close the compartments of the othersection in the same way as previously described in connection withcurtains 19 and 19 and curtains 24 and 24.

Upon the back wall 3 of the bag section 1 are means for supporting andholding hats or other articles when the tray 25 is removed. These meansin the present instance are in the form of bands or tapes attached towall 3. At 43 are shown several spaced elastic bands disposedhorizontally and secured at both ends to normally lie flat against thewall. These elastic bands form loops which are adapted to be expanded toreceive small hats of the type which can be folded or flattened withcutinjury to them. Above the bands 43 is a pair of tapes 44 each secured atonly one end and adapted to be tied about a hat which cannot becompressed without damaging it. These hat-retaining means lie flat andcornpact against the wall 3 when the tray or inner section 25 is inplace and are fully concealed thereby.

Owing to the staggered arrangement of the curtains, previouslydescribed, all the compartments of both bag sections will open upwardlyand forwardly when the front section 1 is unfolded to a position belowthe section 2 and in the same plane therewith, as shown in Fig. 3. Thecontents of all the compartments are then exposed and readily accessiblebut are held from falling out. Upon the upper wall 4 of the rear section2 a loop 45 is hingedly mounted at a point midway between the ends Yofthe section and adjacent the rear edge of the top wall. The loop isadapted to be engaged with a hook H, or the like, for suspending theopened or unfolded bag as shown in Fig. 3.

The hinges 8 and the form of the bag adapt the sections 1 and 2 tounfold into the same plane, with the lower walls 5 of the two sectionsclosely adjacent to each other and parallel. To hold the sections inthis relationship the said lower walls are provided with two pairs ofcompanion, snap fastening elements 46 preferably of the ball and sockettype, one section carrying the balls and the other the sockets. Theseelements are spaced back as far as possible from the hinges to give thema good leverage or hold. Bosses 47 are also provided upon the lower ends5 of the two sections and serve as feet for supporting the bag uprightwhen it is closed. The feet are higher than the fastening elements 46and protect the latter by holding them out of contact with the groundand shielding them from the weight of the bag and its contents.

In Fig. 12 is shown an additional feature which may be included in thebag structure. Here the top wall 4 of the front bag section 1 isprovided with four bosses 48. When the front section 1 is swung downbelow the section 2 the said wall 4 and the bosses 48 are at the bottomand the bosses serve as feet for supporting the unfolded bag in anupright position when it is not convenient to suspend it by the loop 45.This feature cooperates well with the snap fasteners 46 which make astiff unit of the unfolded bag and hold the upper section 2 firmlyupright upon the lower section 1. The bosses 48 are preferably made ofrubber and are higher than the lock l5 so that the unfolded bag may beset upon a chair, table, polished floor or other support withoutscratching it.

The various partitions in the opposed bag sections preferably registerand abut when the sections are closed together and thereby give the bagtransverse strength and rigidity and prevent crushing of its contents.

The curtains forming the front walls of the various compartments arepreferably made of a soft but sturdy cloth or fabric such as corduroyand the compartments are fully lined as at 49, preferably With the samematerial. Therefore when the bag is closed the shoes in each compartmentwill be entirely surrounded and enclosed by the soft linings 49 and thecurtains and will be fully protected.

The bag described is designed throughout to make it a tho'roughlysatisfactory carrier and storage case for ladies fine shoes and otherarticles. Shoes are kept separated in pairs, protected from crushing bythe rigidity of the case and protected from scratching or bruising bythe soft linings and curtains. When it is required to pack longerarticles than shoes, either or both of the hinged partitions 19 and 19may be readily collapsed to produce one or two elongated compartments.Tray 25 is easily removable to provide room for the packing of dressesor the like. The removal of the tray renders the mountings for thehanger pole 32 accessible and said mountings are designed to enable thepole to be easily snapped into place and as easily removed withoutmanipulation of fastening means. The tray 25 of the section l is alsoeasily removable to render the hat-retaining means accessible andprovide space for the hats or other articles. The hatholding bandsnormally lie fiat against the rear wall so that the packing of articlesother than hats in this space will not be obstructed. When the bag isopened and suspended the shoes, hats, dresses or other contents arereadily accessible and exposed for identification but are held fromfalling out. The trays 25 and 25, when in place, are held by theirfastening means from falling out when the sections of the opened bag arecanted or inverted. The rounded, fitting corners R and R' of the traysand the bag sections ensure proper placing of the trays to bring thecompartment curtains into the relation described. If the trays are notdisposed right side up they cannot be inserted.

'I'he entire interior of the bag is capable of easy adjustment orconversion to varying degrees for carrying articles of differentcharacter, shapes and sizes. This convertibility is had withoutcomplicating the structure of the bag.

While I have shown and described a very satisfactory form of myinvention I do not wish to be limited strictly to this disclosure butreserve the right to make such changes as will lie within the scope ofthe claims. For example, the form, number and arrangement of thecompartments may be varied and the design of the various fastening meansmay be changed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. A traveling bag of box-like form comprising a. pair of front and rearrigid sections hinged together along their lower edges; vertical andhorizontal partitions dividing the interior of one ci said sections anddefining a pair of shoe-receiving compartments disposed one above theother and separated by a horizontal partition; l.

hinge means connecting said horizontal partition to the section andadapting it to fold to an inoperative position within the section toplace the two compartments in communication and thereby form a largercompartment; a front wall il for the upper compartment connected to thehorizontal partition and adapted to shift with it to inoperativeposition and uncover the upper com# partment space; and releasable meansto hold said partition and front wall in operative position.

2. A traveling bag of box-like form comprising a pair of front and rearrigid sections hinged together along their lower edges; vertical andhorizontal partitions dividing the interior of one of said sections anddefining a pair of shoe-receiving compartments disposed one above theother and separated by a horizontal partition; hinge means connectingsaid horizontal partition to the section and adapting it to fold to aninoperative position within the section to place the two compartments incommunication and thereby form a larger compartment; a front wall forthe upper compartment connected to the horizontal partition and adaptedto shift with it to inoperative position, and uncover the uppercompartment space; and releasable, snap fastening means carried by saidfront wall and the bag section to hold said partition and front wall inoperative position.

3. A traveling bag for carrying shoes comprising a pair of rigid frontand rear outer sections of substantially the same dimensions hingedtogether at their lower edges and adapted to unfold into substantiallythe same plane; a vertical partition in each of said outer sectionsseparating said sections into two divisions, one of said divisions beingbroader than the other, said partitions aligning and registering whenthe bag sections are closed; a hinged horizontal partition dividing eachof the smaller divisions into two compartments, the said hingedpartitions aligning and registering with each other when the bagsections are closed and each of said hinged partitions being adapted tofold to thereby form a larger compartment; a front, wall connected toeach of said hinged partitions and movable with said hinged partitionout of operative position; front and rear inner sections removablymounted in the larger divisions of the front and rear outersections;partitions dividing the interior of each inner removablesection into compartments, the partitions of one inner removable sectionaligning with the partitions of the other inner removable section whenthe bag is closed; retaining means in each inner removable section sodisposed and of such height that the retaining means each closes thelower front portions of the compartments of the inner section by whichit is carried when the bag sections are open and upright, and so thatthe retaining means in the rear inner section extends upwardly from thebottoms of the compartments thereof and the retaining means in the frontinner section extends downwardly from the tops of the compartmentsthereof when the bag is closed with the two retaining means overlapping.

4. A traveling bag including a rigid, box-like section open at its frontface; vertical and horizontal partitions dividing the interior of saidsection and defining a pair of vertically elongated compartments locatedone above the other and separated by a horizontal partition; a frontretaining wall attached to said section, located at the open facethereof and formed and disposed to close the lower portion of the lowercompartment of said pair and leave the upper portion open; hinge meansconnecting the inner end of said horizontal partition to the bag sectionand adapting the partition to fold to an inoperative position at theback of said lower compartment and place the two compartments incommunication to form a longer compartment; a front retaining wallhinged to the forward free edge of said horizontal partition to closethe lower portion of the upper compartment of the pair and leave theupper portion open; and releasable fastening means to secure the upperportion of said hinged wall, at the opposite sides thereof, to the bagsection and thereby support both the wall and the horizontal partitionin operative position, said hinged wall being adapted to swing with saidpartition into the back of the lower `compartment space when saidfasteningmeans are released.

5. A traveling case for carrying shoes, comprising a pair of rigid frontand rear outer sections of substantially the same dimensions hingedtogether at their lower edges and adapted to unfold into substantiallythe same plane; front and rear inner sections removably mounted in saidouter sections; partitions dividing the interior of said inner removablesections into compartments; retaining means carried by each innersection so disposed and of such height that the retaining means eachcloses the lower front portions of the compartments of the inner sectionby which it is carried when the case sections are open and upright, andso that the retaining means of the rear inner section extend upward fromthe bottoms of the compartments thereof and the retaining means of thefront inner section extend downward from the tops of the compartmentsthereof when the case is closed; and means to positively preventimproper insertion of the removable sections and ensure their insertionwith the retaining means in the relation defined.

6. A traveling case for carrying shoes, comprising a pair of rigid frontand rear outer sections of substantially the same dimensions hingedtogether at their lower edges and adapted to unfold into substantiallythe same plane; front and rear inner sections removably mounted in saidouter sections; partitions dividing the interior of said inner removablesections into compartments; retaining means carried by each innersection so disposed and of such height that the retaining means eachcloses the lower front portions of the compartments of the inner sectionby which it is carried when the case sections are open and upright, andso that the retaining means of the rear inner section extend upward fromthe bottoms of the compartments thereof and the retaining means of thefront inner section extend downward from the tops of the compartmentsthereof when the case is closed; means to.posi tively prevent improperinsertion of the removable sections and ensure their insertion with theretaining means in the relation defined; and releasable locking means tohold the removable sections in the outer sections.

7. A traveling case comprising a rigid, box-like section defining astorage space; a horizontal partition dividing said space into a pair ofsuperposed forwardly opening compartments; hinge means connecting saidpartition to the case section adapting it to fold to an inoperativeposition within the section to place the two compartments incommunication and form a larger compartment; a front wall for the uppercompartment connected to the horizontal partition and adapted to shiftwith it to inoperative position and uncover the upper compartment space;and releasable means to hold said partition and front wall in operativeposition.

8. A traveling case comprising a rigid, box-like and uncover the uppercompartment space: releasable means to hold said partition and frontwall in operative position; and a exible and elastic front wall for thelower compartment secured at its side edges and unsecured at its loweredge to permit contents of the compartment exceeding the fore and aftdepth thereof to protrude outward beneath said lower edge.

JESSICA M. BRADY.

